Investigators Look to Re-Create Jolly Nero’s Fatal Maneuver

A tug assists the Jolly Nero during a re-creation of the maneuver that led to the port control tower collapse.

The Jolly Nero was put out to sea today as investigators try and re-create the fatal maneuver that led to the collapse of the Genoa port control tower.

Italian media reports that the Jolly Nero, a containership/ro-ro owned by Genoa-based Ignazio Messina & Co., left the port of Genoa for the first time since the May 7th incident at the request of local prosecutors investigating the cause of the allision. During one of the offshore tests, a tow line apparently separated, as it did the night of the allision, but it was as to be expected due to heavier weather conditions at the time.

As gCaptain reported previously, the Jolly Nero was being assisted out of the port by two tugs and had one pilot onboard when it struck with the tower, causing it to collapse, killing nine and injuring four.

Also on Thursday, prosecutors began looking at the Jolly Nero’s Voyage Data Recorder to try and piece together what happened in the moments leading up to the allision.

In a statement released by Ignazio Messina shortly after the incident, the company stated that the allision occurred during a standard maneuver in the port’s turning basin as the Jolly Nero was leaving the Genoa.

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